1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a shrinkable dispensing container for probe covers of an ear thermometer. More particularly, the present invention provides a shrinkable dispensing container for facilitating dispensing a probe cover to be assembled onto an ear thermometer probe in such a way that the probe covers are prevented from necessary external contact.
2. Description of Related Art
When using a conventional dispensing container for probe covers of an ear thermometer, a user or medical staffer has to take out the probe cover from the dispensing container and assemble the probe cover to the ear thermometer with direct contact between his hand and the probe cover, thereby resulting in inconvenient use of the conventional dispensing container. Infrared ear thermometers particularly need probe covers to prevent infection and maintain cleanness of the measuring probes thereof. In the known technical field, automatically feeding mechanisms, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,424, U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,018 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,402, have been implemented for assembling a probe cover onto an ear thermometer probe. Though such products have been employed in hospital, inconvenient use of dispensing or assembling probe covers from the feeding mechanisms caused by the complicated configurations and bulkiness thereof is still a problem. Besides, a commercially available packing carton for probe covers of an ear thermometer manufactured by Braun GmbH, a German manufacturer, allows a thermometer to insert the side thereof to grab a probe cover. However, in such case, the side of the packing carton has to be rent, rendering the packing carton becoming incomplete and the probe covers exposing to the external environment. As a result, the possibility where the users' hands or other external objects get into direct contact with the probe covers may risk the probe covers in contamination. Moreover, such approach brings restriction on the shapes and dimensions of the compatible ear thermometer probes.
Therefore, it is obvious that the conventional dispensing containers for probe covers of an ear thermometer substantially bring the users or medical staff inconvenience and trouble. Hence, there is a need for a convenient and efficient dispensing container for probe covers of an ear thermometer that facilitates medical staff's use and prevents medical staff from contacting the probe covers of an ear thermometer directly.